Lorin "Lori" Marie Carmichael was born two months early on December 1, 1975, in the Hill Air Force Base Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah to Russell and Nancy Carmichael. Russ, who was at that time a Master Sargeant in the United States Air Force, and Nancy, a retired Licensed Practical Nurse and full time homemaker to their two daughters, Shirley and Kristi, had been told they would not be able to have a third child, so Lorin's arrival was what her parents called a miracle. Weighing only two and a half pounds at birth, Lorin's under-developed lungs could not bring enough oxygen to her brain, and when she was less than twenty-four hours old, she suffered a bleed in her brain.
At the time, doctors couldn't tell Lorin's parents whether their daughter would survive, let alone whether she would lead a normal life, but Lorin's family refused to give up hope. After more than a month in the hospital, Lorin was strong enough to come home, and from that point forward, her parents were determined to treat her like any other child. While it was clear she had not suffered cognitively as a result of her premature birth, by the time she was eighteen months old, Lorin had not begun to walk, so her parents took her to a specialist who diagnosed Lorin with cerebral palsy and told her parents their daughter would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life.
While other parents may have chosen that time to grieve the loss of their perfect child, Russ and Nancy focused their energy on creating an environment in which Lorin's strengths could be nurtured despite whatever limitations would affect her in the future. Russell eventually earned his commission in the Air Force which meant moving nearly every two years to Air Force bases around the world. Despite, or perhaps because of the frequent moves, Lorin learned how to get along with almost anyone and how to cope with any environment. Although confined to a wheelchair, Lorin suffered no such limitations academically, and she quickly became a "teacher's pet" and developed an interest in teaching. By the time she entered first grade, she was spending nearly the entire school day in a regular classroom, and by sixth grade, she had left her special education classroom behind completely.
Junior high and high school proved to be more challenging, and while Carmichael carried a perfect GPA throughout her secondary school years with a full load of honors classes, the other students were intimidated by her wheelchair. Those who didn't choose to ignore her completely chose to whisper behind her back. Just about the time people would realize she was just like everyone else, it was time to move again. It was a difficult time for her, but she credits her junior high and high school years for helping her to develop her passion and empathy for those less fortunate. To combat her loneliness and sense of isolation, Lorin threw herself into schoolwork and extracurricular activities, and she developed a small but close knit circle of friends. In her junior year of high school, she was permitted to enroll in several courses offered by the local community college. It was then she got her first taste of psychology, but determined to follow in her older sister's footsteps, Lorin saw taking college courses early as simply a means to get to her education classes that much faster. She graduated from Eau Gallie High School in Melbourne, Florida two years later with a 4.0 GPA, and what she thought was a career as a special education teacher in front of her.
She entered Shippensburg University a bright eyed elementary and special education major the autumn semester after graduation, but a fateful meeting with a callous, but frank vocational counselor quickly derailed her plans. She was told in no uncertain terms that no principal would hire a physically disabled teacher to safeguard young students. Lorin was crushed. While the counselor was not the most tactful, he did help her realize that she was interested in more than teaching, and that her passion lie in helping others. After a year of general courses and another move to Annandale, Virginia courtesy of the United States Air Force, Lorin entered Northern Virginia Community College, majoring in General Studies with a Psychology Specialization. Immediately following her graduation, her father once again received orders. They were to return to Florida, this time to Eglin Air Force Base. Lorin completed her BA in Psychology at the University of West Florida's Fort Walton Beach campus. As in high school, Lorin focused her attention mostly on her studies rather than her social life, but she was able to come out of her shell a bit as she put down more permanent roots and found her niche on the small community campus. Her love of psychology and concern for others made her a natural born counselor, her professors said, and less than two weeks after graduating with her Bachelor's degree, she was attending her first graduate counseling course.
While in her Master's program, Carmichael became a volunteer at the Okaloosa County Victims' Assistance Center, an office dedicated to helping victims of violent crime receive counseling and legal services. Lorin loved the challenging work and found it to be much more rewarding than she ever thought possible. After graduating from the University of West Florida with her Master's degree in counseling and earning her license as a mental health counselor, Lorin was at a cross-roads. Her parents were getting older and she was ready to move out on her own, but to do that, she would have to make enough money to support herself and a full-time live in aide. Carmichael decided to put her career on hold and return to college to pursue a doctoral degree. She entered Florida State University, and after two intense years, graduated with a Ph.D. in clinical psychology with concentrations in Traumatology and Forensic Psychology.
With her diploma in hand and a job as the Counseling Services Director of Shelter House Domestic Violence and Rape Crisis Center waiting for her (thanks to some help from her supervisor at the Victims' Assistance Center), Lorin scraped enough money together to buy her first house in the small town of Niceville and hire a full-time personal assistant named Katherine Reynolds. Lorin became a tireless crusader for victims' rights and funding for victims' services and compensation. But her position at the crisis center only allowed her to do so much, and Carmichael longed to do her part to make changes statewide. Her opportunity came when her former supervisor at the Okaloosa County VAC decided to retire, and Carmichael was granted an interview. Lorin's spunk and tenacity impressed the brass, and after a year on the job, Carmichael was one of the most respected civillians in the Sheriff's office. Lorin knew how to relate to victims and officers alike, and was not afraid to offer her two cents whether it was required or not. Although it never became a part of her official job description, Lorin became an "unofficial" confidante for the officers and attorneys she worked with, primarily because she worked on cases practically from beginning to end. From the crime scene to the sentencing hearing, they could count on Lorin to be on top of it, whether they liked it or not.
Lorin thought long and hard before applying for the position of Chief Victims' advocate and Police Psychologist for the FHP, but ultimately decided it was an opportunity she couldn't pass up. When she was hired, to her chagrin, Carmichael felt like a rookie again. Fueled by the challenge, however, Lorin looked forward to beginning the next chapter in her career. After a few months with the FHP, Lorin was contacted by Lt. Helen Greggory, Commander of the Community Services Bureau of the Sierra Falls Police Department in California. Carmichael had forgotten to withdraw her resume from the National Victims' Services Directory and she was being "courted" by Greggory to fulfill a position with the SFPD that would have her not only counseling officers and victims, but also running a crisis intervention team which would provide moire hands-on service to the community. She resisted the idea of moving to California at first, but was persuaded by the opportunity for more challenging and more rewarding work as well as the opportunity to establish more independence from her parents, who still resided in Florida.
Carmichael is still a little uneasy about the sudden career change, but is looking forward to honing and utilizing all of her skills.
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